Stuart Beam model steam engine c. 1770s onwards - Rik Thistle - FINISHED - 1:12 (est)

[Rik Thistle]

John,

 

Thanks. Collins is a respected name in the Avionics business....I worked in that area for a few years.

 

I have a friend who designed and marketed an amateur radio Transceiver with a ridiculously low oscillator drift. It's a fascinating and deep subject.

 

Richard

[Egilman]

3 hours ago, Rik Thistle said:

I am guessing the gray paint took over some time around WWI.

 

Actually, the Spanish American War/Turn of the century...

[Rik Thistle]

Hi all,

 

A couple of final pics to close off the build thread.

 

I've added the Governor mechanism, lagged the cylinder and attached copper (Inlet and Exhaust) pipe work.  But still in the process of setting the timing etc.

 

 

The Governor build went reasonably well, although with hindsight I may have built some of the parts differently from the Drawings...next time!

 

The Governor connects, via a linkage, to the Inlet at the front of the Cylinder and controls flow by a throttle type flap. There is some debate as to whether these governors actually work properly at model level, and even at full size level where they may in fact only be a safety feature in case the belt drive snaps.... any thoughts welcome.

 

The cladding, like the fluting on the column, IMO adds that bit extra to the build. I used spare wood from one of my model ships and brass banding from a UK supplier.

 

If anyone fancies building one of these steam engines feel free to ask me any questions here. And/or visit https://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/, https://www.modelenginemaker.com/  etc for great examples on top notch steam engine builds.

 

I'm not sure what my next build will be - steam engine, model ship or HMS Flirt 😉 ...time will tell.

 

See you all soon,

 

Richard

 

[Edit: Timing is sorted so the Beam Engine now runs very smoothly and peacefully ;-).

I've also bought the Stuart Engineering Lathe model as my next project.... watch this space]

Edited January 11, 2023 by Rik Thistle

[GrandpaPhil]

Very impressive!

[mtaylor]

An impressive build to say the least what with all the machining required.   Beautiful work.

[Django]

I joined this forum when I was restoring my father’s Malek Adhel model.  I never searched for any model engineering’s posts.

 

 I like your personal touches.  your engine looks great.  
 

I recently finished a Stuart Beam from a set of castings that I had tucked away since 2010.  I believe that my set was cast in the 1960s.  I drew outside the lines as well. 
 

How are the newer castings?  I have a D10, 10H and 5A as well, but they were all made from old castings, (I believe that the newest is the 5A, and that was from 1982).  
 

Edited May 7, 2023 by Django

[Rik Thistle]

Hi Django,

 

I've just had a read of your Malek Adhel restoration - very good. Nice to see a Machinery's Handbook in the background, and the model steam engines also.  I like seeing the engines in the same case as the ship - it somehow works :-)

 

It's only in the past couple of years or so that I've been machining cast iron models, so can't really compare them to what Stuart was supplying decades ago.

 

I believe Stuart was bought out by a foundry company a few years ago and were moved to the foundry's premises. I imagine Stuart brought with them all their knowledge and probably a few employees but, as with any takeover, the new owners would have examined ways of saving cost etc.

 

The 10V, Beam and Lathe I have made all use cast iron parts. Some of those parts had a diamond hard skin (due to rapid cooling) so I used Carbide Insert tooling to cut through that. Stuart are very good at replacing blemished castings, no questions asked.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

 

PS: A friend brought his Grandfather's old model steam engine to me to see if I could get it working - it hadn't ran for probably 50+ yrs. I gave it a quick look over, oiled it, connected up the compressed air and off it went, running like new. My friend was a bit silent for a minute or so as memories came flooding back.

 

 

 

 

[Django]

Thank you for the feedback.  I looked through your model engineering posts and found them very enjoyable.  The 10V with a disc flywheel and reversing gear is a marine engine, so it seems very relevant.  Forms of beam engines were also used to power ships.  Building model ships and model engines require a similar mindset.  There seems to be much more interest in model engineering on your side of the pond, but fortunately, the internet makes the world feel smaller.

 

My father built the Malek Adhel as a young man and I believe that it had big part in making him patient and detail orientated.  You have to be clever to come up with setups for machining and for model ship building.  The Stuart 5A that I have was primarily built by my father and he intended for it to power a small, full size steam boat.  His 5A was extensively modified, but serious mistakes were made in the redesign and the execution, so he shelved it and passed it along to me.  He wasn’t very hopeful that it would ever run, but after some redesign and a lot of rework and remaking of parts, it is now a complete and running engine, but I have no intention of building a boiler and putting it to work.   

 

Here is a closeup of the 5A marine engine, (like the Malek Adhel, another father to son project).  The Unicorn and Stuart #7 engines were made by me father and the D10 is one that I built.  I still need to make the governor for the Unicorn and the reversing gear for the #7.  That will finish up the joint projects.

 

I hope that you will continue to post your engine and machine builds.

 

 

Edited May 7, 2023 by Django

[Rik Thistle]

Django,

 

That is a very well finished 5A. Even the nuts on the front plate line up 🙂

 

Just for interest,  Joe Pie is currently machining a D10 .... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YN61UNW9zys&list=PL4wikbEbcE3LgNegsjLoFKQE8P1u45aT6

 

I don't know whether or not model engineering is more prevalent over here....it might just be that it is concentrated into a smaller land mass than the USA. There is also a very strong model engineering presence in Continental Europe.

 

Either way, modelling is a great way to spend time and learn new things.

 

Catch you soon.

 

Richard

 

[Roger Pellett]

Beam engines were used to power side wheel passenger steamers here in the USA on the East Coast rivers and on the Great Lakes.  At least on the Lakes, I believe that these were often low pressure engines that relied more on the vacuum from the condensed steam than high pressure expansion.  This meant huge engines with cylinder diameter and stroke measured in feet instead of inches.

 

Roger

Edited May 7, 2023 by Roger Pellett